Via CEO Wenchi Chen revealed a business card-sized motherboard billed as the “world's first industry-standard form-factor for PC/phone convergence,” at Computex today. The “mobile-ITX” board measures 3 x 1.8 inches — half the size of Via's “pico-ITX” form-factor — and runs Linux or Windows XP Embedded. (more…)

Cross-platform development tools specialist Trolltech is shipping a Java add-on for its flagship C++ application development framework. “Qt Jambi” comprises class libraries and integrated development tools aimed at helping users develop rich client applications with a look and feel native to multiple GUI targets. (more…)

Yet another inexpensive miniature flash-based laptop running Linux has appeared. Chairman Jonney Shih introduced Asus's $190 Eee PC (3ePC) at a Computex keynote this morning, giving the audience a tour of its Windows-like Linux operating system, which boots in 15 seconds from 2GB of flash. (more…)

Icron Technologies is demonstrating a prototypical USB hub that connects over standard home electrical wiring. The prototype, which is on display at the Computex trade show in Taipei this week, is based on Panasonic's HD-PLC (high-definition powerline communication) chip, and connects any USB device at throughputs up to 190Mbps, the company claims. (more…)

An automated Linux distribution building system has added support for two interesting modern processor architectures targeting multimedia-enabled consumer electronics devices. T2 SDE (system development environment) rc7.0 adds support for Atmel's AVR32 architecture, and for the ADI (Analog Devices Inc.) Blackfin processor architecture. (more…)

The first of Via's Pico-ITX boards is delightfully small, cool-running, and quiet, while offering DVI-D and a stacked I/O add-on board. However, driver problems under both Linux and Windows prevent the PX-1000 from delivering satisfying high-definition video, according to a review at… (more…)

Via Technologies on June 6 unveiled the NanoBook Ultra Mobile Device (UMD) reference design — a UMPC-like device, but with a full QWERTY keyboard. The “sub-notebook” style design aims to enable device-makers to build customized low-cost, light-weight mobile PCs for consumers, businesses, and schools, Via said. (more…)

Atmel has introduced a new low-cost model in its AP7000-series of high-efficiency SoCs (system-on-chip processors) designed to run Linux. The AT32AP7001 comes with a Linux port and tools, and targets low-cost, four-layer circuit boards used in printers, fax machines, surveillance cameras, audio processing, and industrial control equipment. (more…)

MontaVista has released an embedded Linux BSP (board-support package) that targets a highly configurable Freescale networking processor, aimed at pervasive computing applications. (more…)

A Linux-powered storage appliance has landed high up on PC World's annual list of the year's top 100 products. Netgear's (formerly Infrant's) ReadyNAS NV+ ranked eighth, ahead of such heavyweights as Apple TV and Ubuntu Linux 7.04 (aka “Feisty Fawn”). (more…)

NXP Semiconductor has introduced a multi-chip module that supports the IEEE's new 802.11n high-speed wireless LAN protocol. The MRX2000 enables higher throughput of multimedia data streams, including HD video, and can be “easily” integrated into consumer devices such as set-top boxes, digital media adapters, residential gateways, routers, and game consoles, the company said. (more…)

Shortly after unveiling its Linux-based mobile phone and “mobile companion” product roadmaps, Palm has announced a $325 million investment. If approved, the transaction would give Elevation Partners a 27 percent ownership stake, and enable Palm to hire iMac and iPod engineering lead Jon Rubinstein as executive board chairman. (more…)

U.K.-based startup TriMetrix has announced a tiny single-board computer (SBC) designed for use in devices requiring biometric scanners, including time/attendence, access control, and POS (point-of-sales) equipment. (more…)

LearningSoft has used customized Linux-based handheld devices in an “assessment system” aimed at helping classroom school teachers create, administer, and score tests. Aimed primarily at grades three through eight, the “Indigo Learning System” uses Aeronix's $99 Zipit chat device running a custom software… (more…)

After two years of work by the Free Software Foundation (FSF) and the open source community, the GNU General Public License Version 3 (GPLv3) is due on June 29. The “final draft,” released May 31 for comments, persists with “anti-tiVoization” language, although the scope is narrowed to consumer devices only. (more…)